


Elegiac

by lcdsra



Series: LCDSRA's A-Z Soulmate Prompts [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lcdsra/pseuds/lcdsra
Summary: /ˌeləˈjīək/adjective1. relating to or characteristic of an elegy.Or: Varina is no stranger to loss.
Relationships: Kadence/Varina
Series: LCDSRA's A-Z Soulmate Prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935553





	Elegiac

**Author's Note:**

> Italics are in the past.
> 
> AU: Whatever your soulmate writes on their skin appears on yours.
> 
> Character(s): Varina, Rune, Kadence  
> Relationship(s): Onesided Kadence/Varina  
> Warning(s): Minor character death, unrequited love

Soulmates were a thing that Varina knew about but never cared about. Well, actually, that was a lie. Varina cared about soulmates, once, but that was a long time ago. When she was a child, she wrote on her skin all the time, in pen, trying to communicate to her soulmate.

Her soulmate never replied, and at first, she was confused as to why.

The first half of her life, it was because she wasn’t alive yet. The second half, well, it was because she had no soulmate.

“I am no stranger to loss.” Varina declared, raising her drink. “I can handle this.”

: : :

_Foreigner. The word was rough in her mouth, forceful like it was spat. She had never liked the word, really. It felt wrong somehow, ugly in a way._

_Her mom had asked her, with a frown, why she felt that way._

_“I don’t like it.” A young Varina replied. “It feels bad.”_

_“Words on their own don’t mean anything.” Her mom had said. “Does it sound bad?”_

_“Yeah. It sounds mean.”_

_Later, she thought, it wasn’t that it felt bad, it’s just that she related too much to the word, after her mom died._

_Varina was five when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. It was caught late (too late) and she was given a month to live by the time the diagnosis was complete._

_She survived a week. Varina watched as her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing stopped, and she had felt like a stranger._

: : :

Björk raised a brow at her. “No stranger to loss?” They echoed. “Does that mean you’re bad a beer pong or…”

She wanted to laugh. Instead, she just set down her cup. “Yes and no. Tell you what, if you win this game, I’ll talk about my tragic backstory.

“If you’re okay with it.” Björk shrugged, setting up the cups. “But we’re also using water, not beer, because I think we both have early mornings.”

Varina glowered at them, but knew they were right. “You’re no fun. If I win, you’re buying me a drink or two.”

: : :

_“Darek is gone.”_

_Varina had not been surprised, really. Darek wanted much more than what their household could provide. “Where is he?”_

_Her little brother shrugged. “I don’t know. I woke up and found this.” He handed her a sheet of lined paper. She took it gingerly, as slowly as a 12 year old could._

_She scanned the paper. It was certainly Darek’s handwriting, with minor spelling errors that showed off just how fast it was written. Wordlessly, she handed the note back._

_“Why did he leave?” Jayden had asked. He looked sad, but Varina kept her expression flat. “Why didn’t he tell us?”_

_“We would’ve tried to stop him.” She had replied. “He might have lost his nerve if he talked to us.”_

_Her younger brother (only brother) clutched the note like it was a lifeline. “What do we do?”_

_Varina didn’t know, exactly. Technically, Darek was 18 and free to do what he pleased. Their father would likely notice his disappearance, though, but what he’d do with that information was unknown. Finally, she had simply said, “Nothing.”_

_Her little brother had left with the note without another word. That night, she heard her father cursing loudly, most likely having discovered his disappearance._

_Varina had snuck out and bought some food from the convent store down the street. When she returned, her brother told her their father had disappeared too, without dinner._

_She had presented dinner and felt nothing._

: : :

Björk wasn’t very good at beer pong, but they managed to get a few into the cups. “How are you so good at this?” They asked her, frustrated.

She merely grinned, “My friend in high school taught me.”

They grumbled. “What was their name?”

“Alexis.”

They missed their shot. “Are you still friends with ‘em?”

: : :

_It wasn’t like Varina was the best friend in the world, but even she knew what a declining friendship looked like._

_Alexis was new to the district, meaning she didn’t really know the high school, but Varina did, so she showed her around and made an effort to make sure she wasn’t alone at lunch._

_She had spent enough years alone, picking at her food, self-consciously eating as people avoided her like the plague. It was never personal, but maybe that was the issue._

_So Varina made an effort to talk with Alexis and they visited each other’s houses, and maybe Varina didn’t like the same things as Alexis but really, it was okay for awhile._

_Maybe that’s why their friendship fell apart. Gradually, Alexis stopped sitting with her at lunch. She stopped greeting her in the hallway, and suddenly, over winter break, she was gone._

_And Varina was alone. She always struggled with making friends her age, despite having gone to school with them since grade school, always unwanted, always sitting alone. A stranger in her own place._

_She wasn’t sure why it hurt so much, why her self-worth plummeted after Alexis stopped talking to her._

: : :

“Nope.” She missed one, and got the other in. “Drink up. You’ll be the most hydrated person in this building by the end of this.”

Björk gulped down the cup of water. “Ugh, apparently.” They began lining up their shot, when they asked, “Have you met your soulmate?”

“If you make both these shots, I’ll tell you.” Varina replied, grinning.

Varina knew that Björk hadn’t met their soulmate yet. However, sometimes, they’d come into work with long sleeves to cover their arms, and, occasionally, she’d see writing appear on their forearm, or hand, little doodles and notes and schedules.

Björk made both shots.

: : :

_“Hello, my name is Kadence Hunt.” The woman across from her introduced._

_Varina smiled mildly. “Welcome, thank you for taking the time to get here.”_

_She sat down. “Of course. I’m fascinated to learn more about STARS.”_

_The meeting was a job interview, of sorts. Varina wanted to know if this new recruit would be ideal to work on a specific case of hers, and by the end, she approved._

_“Here’s my email, contact me if you have any questions.” Varina pushed a sheet of paper to her._

_Hunt had smiled and asked, “May I use this pen?”_

_She nodded and Hunt had wrote something on her forearm. On instinct, Varina glanced at her own. Predictably, nothing appeared. She would’ve been fine with it, if she herself hadn’t picked up a pen, once Kadence was gone, and doodled a smiley face on her hand._

_Hunt came back to give her back the pen she accidentally took with her. And, there on her hand, was an identical smiley face._

: : :

“I knew then that Hunt was my soulmate.”

Björk looked sad. “But she’s not yours.”

Varina smiled, just a little. “No.” She missed her shot.

And Björk managed to land a ball in the cup. She picked up the cup, fishing the ball out of it. “This water is getting gross.” She commented, despite tipping her head back.

“Believe me, I’ve had to drink 8 cups of it.” They commented. “Although, I do only have one left to get.”

“I can’t believe the comeback you made.” Varina lamented. “You had four more, and suddenly, made that back in two turns.”

“My secret weapon.” Björk replied, grinning. “I learn from my mistakes.”

She glared, but it didn’t mean anything. “Was that a jab at my tragic backstory?”

“No. Just at your pong skills.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's coming down on me  
> Water like misery  
> It's coming down on me  
> I'm ready, rain on me
> 
> \- Rain On Me by Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga


End file.
